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Demosthenes - Orations - v2
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? IN DEFENCE OF C T E S I P H O N. 387
the Virtues of their Anceflors ? Or if this condud: muft have
been deemed unworthy of her (it indeed would have been
moft ignominious) yet ought fhe to have indolently negleded
all Oppofition to the Mifchiefs, that {he faw muft neceflarily
happen, if not prevented, and which fhe probably had long
forefeen ? (6) Yet many of the Nations, who have aded in this
Manner, or rather all of them, have been treated with great-
er feverity, than us, by the Conqueror. But if Philip, im-
mediately after his Vidtories, had retired into Macedonia ;
had he there continued in Peace, nor offered either to his own
Allies, or to the reft of Greece, any farther Injuries or Infults,
yet whoever had not oppofed the Execution of his Projedls,
would now be juftly liable to Reproach and Cenfure. But
iince he hath equally defpoiled us all of Dignity, Power, Li-
berty, or rather, as far as was poftible, even of the very Being
of our civil Polity, did you not, when guided by my Counfels,
confefledly maintain the moft honourable Conduct ? But I re-
turn from this DifrrefTion.
What Meafures therefore, ^fchines, did it become the Dig-
nity of the Republic to purfue, when ftie beheld Philip prepa-
ring to extend his Dominion and Tyranny over Greece ? What
D d d 2 Advice
(6) We have here another Inftance of The Doftor imagines it a different Read-
Doftor Taylor's critical Sagacity, not un- ing taken from the firil and earlieft Edi-
like that in Page 364. There appears in tions of our Authors. Upon his Au-
all our Editions and Manufcripts a tedi- thority, and the Arguments, with which
ous Repetition of the fame Sentiments, it is fupported, the prefent Tranflation.
although fomewhat differently exprefled.
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? ,88 DEMOSTHENES
Advice ought I to have given ; what Decree fhould I have pre-
ferred, efpecially in Athens ? (for this Circumftance is of
higheft Importance) I was confcious, that through all Time,
to the very Day upon which I firft afcended this Tribunal, my
Country had ever contended for Sovereignty, for Fame and
Honour ; that fhe had expended more Blood, and more Trea-
fures in her Zeal for the Glory and Interefts of the Grecians,
than any Tingle State of thofe Grecians had ever expended for
its own particular Safety. I faw Philip himfelf, with whom
we maintained this Conteft, after having loft an Eye, his
Collar-bone broken, his Arm, his Leg maimed, yet ftill
with Ardour purfuing his Projeds of Empire and Dominion,
and abandoning to Fortune, with Chearfulnefs and Alacrity,
any other Part of his Body {he pleafed, fb that he might enjoy
the Remainder with Honour. Belides, no Mortal could have
ever ventured to affert, that a Man educated in Pella, an ob-
fcure and inconfiderable Village, could have been animated
with a Spirit capable of afpiring to the Sovereignty of Greece,
or that fuch a Defign could have ever entered into his Imagi-
nation ; while you, Athenians as you are, and inftru(? l:ed in
your earlieft Education to behold and admire the glorious Ex-
amples of your Anceftors, could of your own meer Motion
make a Surrender. of the Liberties of Greece to Philip. No
Man living would have ventured fuch an AlTertion. It there-
fore of Ncceftity remained to oppofe his Ufurpations with Re-
folution. Thus did you adl at the Beginning, with Juftice, and
with
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? IN DEFENCE OF CTESIPHON. 389
with Dignity. Thus did I decree, and advife, while I con-
tinued in Adminiftration. I confefs it ; but indeed in what
other Manner could I have a6led ? I afk you this Qucftion,
^Ichines, without mentioning Amphipolis, Pydna, Potida-a,
Halonefus: I do not mention them; Serrium, DorifcuSj the
taking Peparethus by Storm, and every other Inftance of In-
juftice, with which the Republic had been treated, I will not
even know whether they ever exifted. You have however af^
ferted, iEfchines, as you can indeed very dextroufly affert
whatever you think proper, that I had often mentioned them,
meerly with an Intention of provoking Philip's Refentment ;
whereas in Fa6t, all the Decrees relating to them were prefer-
red not by me, but by Eubulus, Ariftophon and Diopithes.
But I fhall not fpeak at prefent to thofe Decrees. However,
when Philip had made himfelf Mafter of Euboea, and fortified
that Ifland with a Defign of making a Defcent upon Attica ;
when he meditated his Expedition again ft Megara ; feized up-
on Oreum, difmantled Porthmus, eftabliflied the Tyrant Phi-
liftides in Oreum, and Clitarchus in Eretria ; when he had
fubdued the Hellefpont, befieged Byzantium, and among the
Cities of Greece, had abfolutely deftroyed fomc, and obliged
others to reftore their Exiles ; : in all this Condudl did he com-
mit any real Adl of Hoftility ; did he diffolve the Treaties be-
tween us? Did he violate the Peace, or not ? i Should any of
the Grecian States have appeared in Oppofition to thefe Acts
of Violence, or not ? If they really ought not, and Greece,
according
o
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? 390 DEMOSTHENES
according to the Proverb, fliould have been given up Uke a
Myfian Conqueft (7) to the firfl: Invader, while the People of
Athens were yet in Being, and even beheld thefe Tranfa<5lions,
I then confefs, that I was trivially employed, when I gave my
Advice, and the Republic was as trivially employed, when fhe
followed that Advice. Be mine therefore all the Faults and
Errors of her Condudl ; yet it ever any Oppofition were to have
been formed againft thefe Ufurpations, whom could fuch an
Oppofition better have become, than the Athenian People ?
Such was my Condudt in Adminiftration during that Period>>
When I faw this Oppreflbr enflaving all Mankind, I oppofed
him; I foretold the Event, and remonftrated to you not to
abandon the World to his Ambition. With regard to the
Peace, it certainly was not violated by the Republic, iEfchines,
but by Philip, when he feized our Ships. Read the Decrees
themfelves, and Philip's Letter concerning that Tranfadion, in
their proper Order ; for by examining them both with Attention,
it will manifeflly appear, who was blameable in every parti-
cular of that Affair.
The Decree.
Under the Archonfhip of Neocles, in the Month of Sep-
tember, an extraordinary Affembly being convened by the
Generals,
{"]) A Myfian Conquefi was a Proverb their King, went by Advice of an Oracle
to exprefs the Weakntfs of a State, fuch to Achilles, to be cured of a Wound,
as that of the Myfians, when Telephus, that Hero himfclf had given him.
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? IN DEFENCE OF C T E S I P H O N. 391
Generals, Eubulus the Cytherian, delivered his Opinion :
Whereas the Generals have made Report to the AfTembly, that
Philip's Admiral Amyntas hath carried into Macedonia, and
there detains in Cuftody, our Admiral Laodamas, with tvv^enty
Veflels fent to the Hellefpont for the Importation of Corn ; be
it decreed, that the Prefidents of the Senate, and the Generals
take Care to convene the Senate, and that Ambafladors be fent
to Philip, who fhall remonftrate to him upon his relcafing
the Admiral, the VefTels and the Soldiers : that if Amyntas
hath indeed a6led in this Matter through Ignorance, the Athe-
nian People will not prefer any Complaint againft him ; or if
Laodamas fhall be found to have a6led in any Thing contrary
to his Inftrudlions, the Athenian People will take Cognizance
of the Affair, and punifli him according to the Nature of his
Offence : but if neither of thefe appear to be the real State of
the Cafe, but that fome intentioned Injuftice hath been com-
mitted either by Philip or his Admiral ; then the Ambaffadors
fhall return an Account of the Affair, that the People may de-
liberate upon proper Meafures. Eubulus therefore, not De-
mofthenes, preferred this Decree j Ariftophon another ; after-
wards Hegefippus; Ariftophon a fecond Time; then Philocra-
tes, Cephifophon, and many others. I never had any Con-
cernment in thefe Meafures. Read the Decree.
The Decree.
Under the Archonfhip of Neocles, on the thirtieth of Sep-
tember,
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? 392 DEMOSTHENES
tember, witli Confent of the Senate ; the Magiftrates and Generals,
having firft made Report to the Senate of what had paffed in
the Aflembly, declared that the People had determined, Am-
bafladors fhall be fent to Philip to folicit the Reftitution of
their Ships, and that proper Inftrudions be given them, be-
fides this Decree of the Aflembly. Cephifophon, Democritus
and Polycritus were eleded ; the Tribe Hyppothoon prefided
in the Senate, Ariftophon, the Prefident, made the Motion for
this Decree.
As I produce thefe Decrees, fo fhould you, iEfchines, pro-
duce thol'e, that I have preferred, by which you may convid
me of having been the Occafion of the War. But impofTible.
If you had any fuch Decrees, it was your Intereft to have im-
mediately fliewn them. Neither indeed does Philip himfelf
impute any Blame to me with regard to the War, although he
complains of others moft feverely. Read his Letter.
Philip's Letter.
Philip, King of the Macedonians, to the Senate and People
of Athens, Greeting. Your Ambafladors are arrived here, and
have remonftrated to me concerning the Difmiflion of thofe
Ships, that Leodamas commanded. Upon the whole of this
Matter, you appear to me to have adled with uncommon Weak-
nefs, if you could imagine, I am ignorant of the real Defti-
nation of thefe Ships, or their being fent under Pretence of
traniporting
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? IN DEFENCE OF CTE SIPHON. 393
tranfporting Corn from the Helkfpont to Lemnos, but in Re-
ality with Deiign to fuccour the Selymbrians, then beficgcd by
me, and not comprehended in our Treaties. Thefe Orders
were given to your Admiral, without the Confcnt of the Athe-
nian People, by certain of your Magiftrates and others, who
now are private Citizens, and have refolved by every poflible
Method to violate the Peace fubfifliing between us, and to re-
new the War. This Refolution they purfue with much more
Earneftnefs, than that of fuccouring the Selymbrians, imagining,
that fuch an Event will be an ample Revenue to them. I can-
not however conceive, how it can promote our mutual Advan-
tage. For thefe Reafons I reftore the Ships brought into our
Harbours ; and if you are willing no longer to fufFer thefe Mi-
nifters, by whom you are impelled to commit fuch Adls of
Injuftice ; if you punifh them, as they really merit, I fhall en-
deavour to preferve our Treaties. Farewell.
The Name of Demofthenes never once appears in this Letter,
nor hath he charged me with having any Share in this Tranf-
adion. But wherefore, while he cenfures others, doth he not
mention my Adminiftration ? ' Becaufe, he muftthen have men-
tioned his own Ufurpations. For upon them I had unmove-
ably fixed my Attention, and made them the principal Objedls
of my Oppofition. I firft decreed an Embafly to Peloponnefus,
when he firft fecretly marched againft Peloponnefus : then to
Euboea, when he attempted Eubnea : afterwards I propofed,
Vol. II. E e e not
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? 394 DEMOSTHENES
not an Embafly, but an Expedition to Oreum, and Eretria,
when he had eftabliflied his Tyrants in thofe Cities. Laflly,
the Fleets, by which Cherfonefus was preferv^d, and Byzantium,
and all our Confederates, were appointed by my Decrees. A
Meafure from which you received the faireft cf all Rewards j
Praifes, Fame, Honours, Crowns, and Gratitude from thofe,
who were indebted to you for their Prefervation. Among the
Nations, opprefTed by this Ufurper, they, who were dire6ted
by your Counfels, found in them their Deliverance: they, who
fjightly regarded your Advice, have had frequent Reafons to
remember what you foretold, and to be convinced, that you
were not only well affeded to their Interefts, but endowed with
fuperior Wifdom, and even with a Spirit of Prophecy ; for cer-
tainly whatever you predicted, the Event hath verified.
That Philiftides would have purchafed at any Rate the
PoffefTion of Oreum, and Clitarchus of Eretria ; that Philip
would have given a mighty Sum to have made himfelf Mafter
of thofe Cities, from whence he might have annoyed the Coafts
of Attica ; and paid any Price, to have been fecure againft a
Convidllon of his other Ufurpations, or to prevent an Inquiry
into the numberlefs A6ls of Hoftility committed againft us,
every Man is perfedlly confcious, and you, jEfchines, can leaft
of all Mankind be ignorant. For the Ambafladors, who came
hither from Clitarchus and Philiftides, took up their Refidence
in your Houfe, and you entertained them at the Expence of the
Pub-^
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? IN DEFENCE OF CTESIPHON. 395
Public ; thofe very Ambaffadors, whom the Athenians violent-
ly drove out of the City, and confidered as Enemies, who
neither offered Propofals juft in themfelves, or advantageous to
the Commonwealth. Thefe Enemies, however, of the Re-
public, were the Friends of iEfchines. Are not thefe Things
true, thou Slanderer ? Thou, who haft afferted, that I re-
ceive my Bribe, and am filent, but grow clamorous, when I
have laviflied it away. Not fuch however is your Pradlice.
You are clamourous, even when you receive, nor will ever ftop
thofe clamours, unlefs our Judges impofe an eternal Silence
upon you, by branding you this Day with Infamy. (8)
'But when I was crowned for thefe Services by your Order;
when Ariftonicus propofed a Decree, in the very fame Terms,
that Ctefiphon hath now ufed (for this is the fecond Time thefe
Honours have been conferred upon me) iEfchines, though
prefent, never oppofed it, or indided the Perfon, who prefer-
red it. Read the Decree.
The Decree.
Under the Archonfhip of Chaerondas, on the twenty-fifth Day
of January, the Leontidean Tribe prefidingin the Senate, Ari-
ftonicus delivered this Opinion : Whereas Demofthenes hath
rendered many and important Services to the People of Athens ;
E e e 2 main-
(8) The Perfon, condemned under the ble of pleading in any CourC of Judi-
Penalty of Infamy, was for ever incapa- cature.
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? 396 DEMOSTHENES
maintained the Interefts of their Confederates both in Times
pafl:, dnd in the prefent by his Decrees; reftored fome of the
Euboean Cities to their Liberty ; given conftant Proof of his
Affedtion to the Athenian People, and, to the utmoft of his
Power, promoted their Interefts and thofe of the other States of
Greece in all his Words and Adions ; it feemeth good to the
Senate and People of Athens, that Demofthenes fhall receive
the Praifes due to his Defervings ; that he fhall be crowned
with a golden Crown, and the Crown itfelf be proclaimed in
the Theatre, when the Feftival of Bacchus is folemnized, and
when the new Tragedians appear upon the Stage ; that the
Proclamation fhall be committed to the Care of the prefiding
Tribe, and the Diredor of the public Games. Thus Ariftoni-
cus delivered his Opinion.
Where then is the Difhonour, the Deriiion and Laughter,
or whatever elfe he afTures us fhall attend the Republic, as a
Confequence of my being crowned at prefent ? Certainly,
when Affairs are recent, and univerfally known, if they have
been happily conduced, they fhall be rewarded with Thanks ;
if otherwife, ftigmatized with Punifhment. It is however
apparent, that I was then rewarded with the general Thanks
of my Fellow-Citizens, not ftigmatized with Punifhment or
Cenfure.
During the Period therefore in which thefe Tranfadlions
hap-
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? IN DEFENCE OF CTESIPHON. 397
happened, it muft be univerfally confefTed, that I managed
the Affairs of the Republic in the beft manner, bccaufc what-
ever I propofed, whether fpeaking or writing, prevailed in your
Councils ; becaufe my Decrees, by which the Commonwealth,
and I, and every Citizen of Athens were honoured with
Crowns by the other States of Greece, were always carried into
Execution ; becaufe you folemnized Sacrifices and Proceffions
to the Gods, for the wife and happy Condud: of your Affairs. /
When Philip therefore was driven out of Euboea, by your Arms
indeed, but by my Pohtics, (and though fome, who liear me,,
fliould even burft with Spleen) by my Decrees, he attempted
to raife another Battery againft: the Republic. Obferving that
we imported a greater Quantity of Corn, than any other State,
he determined to make himfelf Mafter of the Exportation of
it from the Hellefpont, and marching into Thrace endeavoured
to prevail upon the Byzantians, who were at that Time his
Confederates, to unite their Forces with him, and to declare
War againft us. When they refufed, and afferted (as they
might with utmoft Truth affert) that they had not entered
into an Alliance with him upon fuch Conditions, he inverted
their City ; eredled Batteries againft it, and befieged it in Form.
I fhall not aik in what Manner we ought to have adled in fuch
a Conjundture. It is univerfally manifeft. 5 But who fuccoured
the Byzantians and preferved them ? Who prevented the Hel-
lefpont from being at that Time fubdued to a foreign Power ?
You did, O Men of Athens j when I fay you, I fay the Re-
public.
4
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? 398 DEMOSTHENES
public. But who was he, that in all his Orations, Decrees
and Adions, with Simplicity of Heart, and without Referve,
devoted himfelf to the Service of that Republic ? I. (9) How
univTrfally advantageous were thofe Meafures, you are not now
to learn by my Oration ; you have been convinced by their Ef-
feds. For that War, belides the honeft Fame you acquired,
fupplied you with a larger Abundance of all the NecefTaries of
Life, and at a cheaper Rate, than this Peace, of which, to the
Ruin of their Country, fome of our very excellent Citizens, in
View of their own future Expedtations, are fo religiouily obfer-
vant. In fuch Expedlations may they for ever be difappointed,
nor ever partake of thofe BlefTings, which you implore of the
immortal Gods in your warmeft Affedlion for the Common-
wealth, nor ever prevail upon you to engage in their Machina-
tions. Now read the Decrees, by which the Byzantians and
Perinthians crowned the Republic for thefe Meafures.
Decree of the Byzantians.
JBosPHORicus being Pontiffe, Damagetus, having obtained
Leave
(9) Medea's Anfwer to her Confidant, Line? Mci^ disje, ^ c'eft affez. There
in Corneille, very much refembles the is another PafTage, of almoft the fame
Boldnefs and Sublimity of this Paflage. Kind, in this great Author.
Voire pays vous hdit^ fotre Epoux ejl Julia, ^e vouliez-vous qiCil fit centre
fans foi, irois ?
Centre tant cfennemis que vous refle-t-il? Horace. i^V/ mourut.
Med. Moi. Adt i. Sc. 4. Horace, Aft 3. So. 6.
All France, fays Tourreil, hath felt and How much more forcibly might the Ex-
admired this Anfwer. But fliould not preffion have been ? What would you
the Critic have acknowledged, how cold have had him done againfi three ? -- Died.
and fpiritlefs the Beginning of the next 8
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? IN DEFENCE OF CTESIPHON. 399
Leave of the Senate to deliver his Opinion, fpoke thus in the
Affembly : Whereas the People of Athens have in Times pafi:
conftantly preferved a Spirit of Bene\'olence towards the By-
zantians, and their Confederates and Kindred, the Perinthi-
ans ; and whereas they have conferred upon them many and
great Obligations, particularly in a late Conjundlure, when
Philip of Macedon invaded their Dominions, with Intention
utterly to deftroy their whole Nation ; laying wafte their
Country with Fire, and cutting down their Forefts ; the Peo-
ple of Athens then fent us Succours of an hundred and twenty
Ships with Proviiions, Arms, and SiDldiers ; relieved us
from imminent Danger, and reftored to us our ancient Form
of Government, our Laws, and the Sepulchres of our Ancef-
tors ; it therefore feemeth good to the Byzantians and Perin-
thians, to grant unto the Athenians the Rights of Intermarriage,
the Privileges of Citizens, the Poffefllon of Lands and Tene-
ments, a diftinguifhed Seat at all our public Games, a Free-
dom of entering into our Senate, and into the Affemblies of
our People, next to thofe, who have the Superintendence of
all religious Matters : furthermore, that whoever thinks proper
to inhabit our Cities fhall be exempted from all Taxes and
Impofts : that three Statues, fixteen Cubits high, fhall be e-
redled at the Port of Byzantium, reprefenting the Republic of
Athens crowned by the Byzantian and Perinthian Republics :
that Prizes (hall be fent to the general Meetings of Greece at
the Ifthmian, Nemean, Olympic and Pythian Games : that
the
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? 400 DEMOSTHENES
the Crowns, with which the People of Athens are crowned by
us, fhall be there proclaimed, to the Intent that all the States
of Greece may know the Magnanimity of the Athenians, and
the Gratitude of the Byzantians and Perinthians.
Now recite the Decrees of the People of Cherfonefus, when
they fent Crowns to this Commonwealth.
The Decree of the Chersonesites.
The People inhabiting the Cities of Seftus, Eleus, Madytus,
and Alopeconnefus, prefent the People of Athens with a golden
Crown of fixty Talents Weight ; and confecrate an Altar to
Gratitude, and the Athenian People, becaufe they have received
from that People the greateft of all human Bleflings, by being
taken out of the Hand of Philip, and reftored to their Country,
their Laws, their Liberty and their Temples. Thefe Benefits
we fhall through all Time gratefully remember, and return
thefe Obligations to the utmoft of our Power. Thus they
unanimoufly decreed in their general Aflembly.
' My Counfels therefore, and my Adminiftration not only
preferved Cherfonefus and Byzantium ; not only prevented Phi-
lip from making himfelf Mafter of the Hellefpont ; not only
acquired thefe Honours for the Republic, but made the Gene-
rofity of Athens, and the Perfidy of Philip, evidently manifeft
to all Mankind. For while he was adlually an Ally and Con-
federate
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? IN DEFENCE OF CTESIPHON. 401
federate of the Byzantians, yet he befieged them in the Face of
the whole World, (an Adion at once mod infamous, and ex-
ecrable) while you, although you had many juft Reafons of
Complaint againft them for Injuries formerly committed, not
only did not remember your Refentment, or abandon them,
when they were opprefTed, but openly appeared in their De-
fence. By this Condu6t you gained univcrfal Honour and
Efteem. That indeed you yourfelves have crowned many ot
your Citizens for the Wifdom of their Adminift ration, no Man
'is ignorant. But that the Republic herfelf was ever crowned,
I mean by any of her Senators or Orators, except by me, no
Man living will venture to affert.
I SHALL now demonftrate, that his Invedives againfl: the
Euboeans and Byzantians, when he numbered over the Er-
rors, which perhaps they had really committed againft the
Interefts of the Commonwealth, are abfolute Calumnies ;
not only becaufe they are falfe in themfelves (of which I
prefume you are perfedlly convinced) but fuppofing them true,
becaufe I have employed them in fuch a Manner, as to have
rendered them advantageous to your Affairs. To this Fur-
pofe, I fhall briefly mention one or two Inftances of your
own Condud:, moft honourable to the Republic. , For
every Citizen in his priv^ate, and every Nation in its
public Chara6ter, fhould perpetually endeavour to excell in
their future Adions, whatever they themfelves have already
Vol. II. F f f per-
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? 402 DEMOSTHENES
performed mofl: reputable and glorious. (lo) When the Lace-
daemonians therefore, O Men of Athens, were abfolute Mafters
both by Land and Sea ; had furrounded Attica with Guards and
Garrifons ; had taken PoffefTion of Eubosa, Tanagra, Boeotia,
Megara, JEgma, Cleonae and the adjacent Iflands ; when the
Republic had neither Ships in her Harbours, nor Walls round
her Capita], yet you marched to Haliartus, and a few Days
afterwards to Corinth, although you might juftly have refented
the numberlefs Outrages, committed both by the Corinthians
and Thebans in the Decelean war. (ii) But you a6led not
thus inglorioufly ; far otherwife. The Athenians, ^Efchines,
engaged in both thefe Expeditions, neither in gratitude for Be-
nefits received, nor becaufe they were infenfible of their Dan-
ger; but becaufe they would not abandon thofe, who fled
to them for Protedion. Then, ardent in the Purfuit of Honour
and of Fame, they determined to expofe themfelves to the
moft formidable Perils ; thus generoufly confulting at once their
Intereft and their Glory. For Death is the certain Period of
Life to every human Creature, although he hide himfelf for
Safety in his moft fecret Chambers. It therefore becomes the
brave
(lo) This PafTage hath been ill ren- cibiades, built a ftrong Fort, from whence
dered by our Tranflators, except the Ita- they ravaged the open Country ; kept
lian. Percicche rhiwmo nelle ftie private Athens in perpetual Alarms, and often.
alticni, iS una citta nelle publiche, aW e- intercepted her Convoys of Provifions.
f-mpiodelle piu belle operefempre, c\\tQg)\, The Importance of this Fort gave its.
6 ella ha fatte, debhe forzarji di far Tal- Name to the War, although it was noc
tre cofe, eke a far gli rimangano. built 'till the nineteenth Year of what is
(ii) Decelea was a little Village about generally called the Pcloponnefian War.
fifteen Miles from Athens. Here the Thucydides. 7. Lib*
Lacedaemonians, by the Advice of Al-
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? IN DEFENCE OF CTESIPHON. 403
brave to attempt every honourable Enterprize ; oppofing their
Courage and their Hopes to the Danger, and refolute to bear
with Fortitude, whatever God fhall appoint. Thus a6led our
Anceftors ; thus adled fome of our Citizens, who are yet Hving,
when they fuccoured the Lacediemonians, (12) certainly neither
Friends nor Benefadors, but guilty of a thoufand Ads of In-
juftice and Oppreflion with regard to the RepubHc. Yet when
the Thebans, after their Vidlory at Leudra, determined utterly
to deftroy them, you oppofed their OpprefTors, neither terrified
by the Greatnefs of their Power, nor the niilitary Reputation
they had acquired ; neither confidering the numberlefs Wrongs
you had received from that very People, in whofe Defence you
now endangered your own Safety. By thefe Inftances/ you
made it evident to all the States of Greece, that however they
might offend, you would referve your Refentment for fome
other Occafion, and neither remember nor demand an Account
of their Offences, when either their Safety, or their Liberty ^
were in Danger. |
Fff2 Nor
(12) The Sentence in the Original is than in the temperate Digniry of the
imperfeft. The Verb, that (hould ex- Pa/Tage before us. Would not fome of
prefs defending, ftucourhigy relieving the the ancient Orators have imitated, or the
Lac-edsmonians, does not appear in the Critics have mentioned it with their ufiial
Text. Ol' AocxeSxificavin;. Doftor Tay- Marks of Wonder and Approbation?
! or thinks it an Inftance of that velientent Is it not more natural and fimple to iina-
and violent Spirit, which will not be con- gine, that Iqc-^B-. -txi/, la-xuxrxv, or fome
fined by the Rules of Grammarians, fuch Word, hath been loft by the Care-
Yet furely we might rather have expefted leirnefs of Tranfcribers ^ However, we
to find fuch an Inftance of Irregularity, fliouid be cautious of applauding thefe
unknown even to the Boldnefs and Li- hazardous Beauties, which perhaps are
centioufnefs of Poetry, in fome other only pardonable in their original Author,
Parts of this Oration, where the PalTions and are greatly liable to be abufed by
inight be fuppofed to have occafioneJ ir, his Imitators.
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? 404 DEMOSTHENES
Nor with regard to the Lacedemonians only did you behave
yourfelves in this Manner, but when the Thebans invaded Eu-
boea, you did not indolently behold that Event, nor remember
how you had been injured by Themifon, and Theodorus in the
Affair of Oropus, but fuccoured and relieved them. It was at
this Period, that our Citizens, among whom I have a Right of
being numbered, firfl voluntarily offered themfelves to the Re-
public to fupport the Expence of fitting out your Gallies.
But of this Matter hereafter. Yet however glorious your pre-
ferving that Ifland, fiill more glorious, when you became abfo-
lute Mafters of its Cities and the Lives of their Inhabitants, that
you honourably reftored them to thofe, by whom you were thus
injured, without demanding an Account of their Injuftice,
when they had placed this Confidence in your Integrity. A
thoufand other Inftances I pafs over unmentioned ; the Sea-
fights, Expeditions, Battles, in which, both formerly and within
our Memory, the Republic engaged, in Support of the Liberties
and Interefts of Greece. When I beheld Her, upon fo many and
fuch important Occafions, voluntarily entering into thefe Contefts
in Defence of others, what Counfelfhould I have propofed, what
Advice fhould I have given, where her own Safety was in fome
Meafure under her Confideration ? To remember her Refent-
ments againft thofe, forbid it Jupiter ! who now folicited her
Protedion ; and to feek for Pretences, by which we ihould
have betrayed the common Caufe of Liberty ? ^ightnotany of
our Citizens have been juftified in killing me, if I had attempted,
everi
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? IN DEFENCE OF CTESIPIION. 405
even in Words alone, to diOionour the ancient Glories of the
Commonwealth ? For that in Fadl you were incapable of a6t-
ing in fo degenerate a Manner, I was perfedlly convinced. If
you had been thus inclined, what could have hindered you ?
Was it not undoubtedly in your Power ? Were not iEfchines
and his Fadion moft afliduous in advifing you to fuch Mea-
lures ? ?
But I return to the regular Account of my Adminiftration
after this Period, and do you again confider, whether I have
adled for the general Advantage of the Commonwealth. When
I beheld your Marine, O Men of Athens, lying in Ruins, and
the Rich for an inconfiderable Pittance exempted from the
Taxes, that fhould fupport it ; when I beheld your Citizens, of
moderate and indigent Circumftanccs, defpoiled of their Pro-
perty, and the Republic perpetually too late in her Operations,
jl determined to eftablifh a Law, by which I compelled the
rich to adl with Juftice ; protected the poor from Oppreflion,
and, what was of infinite Importance, effedually provided, that
the Commonwealth fhould always be ready, at the appointed
Time, in all her military Preparations. When I was indided
upon an Adlion of preferring a new Law in oppofition to thofe
already eftablifhed, I appealed to your Tribunal, and was ac-
quitted ; nor did my Prolecutor obtain the fifth Part of the
Suffrages, (i 3) What Sums do you then imagine would our
principal
(13) This was an honourable Acquittal. When a Profecutor had not a fifth
Patt
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? 4o6 DEMOSTHENES
principal Citizens, (14) appointed for the Equipment of our
Gallies, have given me, not to have 'propofed this Law ; or at
leaft, to have fufpended the immediate Profecution of it, under
the ufual Forms of an Oath to propofe it hereafter. (15)
Such Sums, O Men of Athens, as in Truth I am afhamed to
mention. Nor would they have adled imprudently ; becaufe
by the former Laws fixteen of them were permitted to join in
building a fingle Galley ; from whence their Taxes were very
inconfiderable, or rather abfolutely nothing, while the poor
were cruelly opprelTed. But by my Law, every Citizen was
obliged to contribute in proportion to his Fortune ; and thus the
Man, who before had contributed only a lixteenth part to build-
ing one Galley, was now obliged to build two at his own
Expence. For they did not before call themfelves Trierarchs,
but Contributors. (16) Certainly there was not any Sum, they
would not chearfully have given to have evaded the force of the
new Law, and not been compelled to adl with Equity to their
Fellow-
Part of the Votes, he was generally fined fignifying the Oath, by which the De-
in Proportion to the Importance of the cifion of a Caufe was put off. One ot
Caufe. This was done to difcoiirage the Parties fwore he was incapable of at-
vexatious and litigious Profecutions. Pa- tending, either through Sicknefs, or fome
trocles, who preferred this Indidment other Neceflity, but would renew the
againft our Orator, was fined five hun- Suit, as foon as poiTible.
dred Drachmas. (i6) The 'V\'ox<\ Trier arch in its firfl
(14) Litterally tranflated, 'They, who and principal Senfe fignifies, the Com-
hold the firft, fccond and third Rank in mander of a Galley. In this, and many
the Clajfes appointed to raife this Tax. other Paflages, it means the Perion, ap-
The Reader may find the Scheme, upon pointed to build it. Our very excellent
which our Autlior founded his Law, in Itahan Tranflator has not been attentive
the firft Oration, fird Volume. to this Difference ; / governatori delle
(ij) Ev ^TTuiA,ocrto(. , A Law-Term, galee.
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? IN DEFENCE OF CTESIPHON. 407
Fellow-Citizens. Now read the Decree, for which I was in-
didled. Then read the Schedule of Taxes appointed by our
former Laws, and afterwards by mine.
The Decree.
Under the Archonfhip of Polycles, on the fixteenth of Sep-
tember, Demofthenes propofed a Law to the Board of Admiral-
ty, repealing all former Laws, by which the Contributions of
the Trierarchs were regulated. It was confirmed by the Senate
and People. Patrocles preferred an Indictment againft De-
mofthenes for this Violation of our Laws, and not gaining a
fifth Part of the Suffrages, was fined five hundred Drachmas.
Now produce the very honeft Taxes of our former Laws.
The Taxes.
Let fixteen Trierarchs, from twenty five Years of Age to for-
ty, be appointed for building one Galley, and let them equally
contribute to the Expence.
Now read the Taxes propofed by my Law,
The Taxes.
tET the Trierarchs be chofen, according to the Valuation of
their Eftates. If it amount to ten Talents, kt them build one
Galley ; if to more than ten Talents, let them be taxed in pro-
portion as far as building three Gallies and a Frigate ; if to lefs,
then let a Number be joined together, whofe Eftates amount
to that Sum. i
Bco
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? 4o8 DEMOSTHENES
Do I then appear to have inconfiderably relieved the Poor
from their Oppreflions, or would not the Rich have purchafed at
any Price a Power of continuing their Injuftice ? I do not
therefore only triumph in my not having yielded to their Soli-
talions, or in having been honourably acquitted when I was
indidled, but in having eftablifhed this falutary Law, and pro-
dudlive of fuch happy EfFe6ts. For during the whole Courfe
of the War, while your Expeditions were conduced according
to this new Regulation, no Trierarch ever complained of In-
juftice, or applied to you for Redrefs ; none ever" fled for Re-
fuge to the Afylum of Diana's Temple at Munychia ; none were
ever thrown into Prifon by the Comptrollers of the Navy ;
your Galleys were never taken by the Enemy, or detained in
Harbour, unable to put to Sea by not being properly equipped.
Yet all thefe Accidents often happened by your former Laws,
becaufe the Poor were incapable of paying their Taxes, i From
hence many infuperable Difficulties arofe. But I removed the
Expence of thefe Armaments from the Poor to the Rich, and
then every thing was regularly conduced. I therefore imagine,
that I am not unworthy of Pralfe, for having through my
whole Courfe of Miniftry conftantly preferred fuch Meafures,
as at once added Reputation, Honour, Strength to the Republic,
and that nothing envious, malignant, ill-natured ; nothing
abjedl, or unworthy of the Commonwealth ever appeared in
my Adminiftration. Upon thefe Principles I (hall appear to
have a(5ted, not only with Regard to your Affairs, but to the
general
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? IN DEFENCE OF C T E S I P H O N. 387
the Virtues of their Anceflors ? Or if this condud: muft have
been deemed unworthy of her (it indeed would have been
moft ignominious) yet ought fhe to have indolently negleded
all Oppofition to the Mifchiefs, that {he faw muft neceflarily
happen, if not prevented, and which fhe probably had long
forefeen ? (6) Yet many of the Nations, who have aded in this
Manner, or rather all of them, have been treated with great-
er feverity, than us, by the Conqueror. But if Philip, im-
mediately after his Vidtories, had retired into Macedonia ;
had he there continued in Peace, nor offered either to his own
Allies, or to the reft of Greece, any farther Injuries or Infults,
yet whoever had not oppofed the Execution of his Projedls,
would now be juftly liable to Reproach and Cenfure. But
iince he hath equally defpoiled us all of Dignity, Power, Li-
berty, or rather, as far as was poftible, even of the very Being
of our civil Polity, did you not, when guided by my Counfels,
confefledly maintain the moft honourable Conduct ? But I re-
turn from this DifrrefTion.
What Meafures therefore, ^fchines, did it become the Dig-
nity of the Republic to purfue, when ftie beheld Philip prepa-
ring to extend his Dominion and Tyranny over Greece ? What
D d d 2 Advice
(6) We have here another Inftance of The Doftor imagines it a different Read-
Doftor Taylor's critical Sagacity, not un- ing taken from the firil and earlieft Edi-
like that in Page 364. There appears in tions of our Authors. Upon his Au-
all our Editions and Manufcripts a tedi- thority, and the Arguments, with which
ous Repetition of the fame Sentiments, it is fupported, the prefent Tranflation.
although fomewhat differently exprefled.
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? ,88 DEMOSTHENES
Advice ought I to have given ; what Decree fhould I have pre-
ferred, efpecially in Athens ? (for this Circumftance is of
higheft Importance) I was confcious, that through all Time,
to the very Day upon which I firft afcended this Tribunal, my
Country had ever contended for Sovereignty, for Fame and
Honour ; that fhe had expended more Blood, and more Trea-
fures in her Zeal for the Glory and Interefts of the Grecians,
than any Tingle State of thofe Grecians had ever expended for
its own particular Safety. I faw Philip himfelf, with whom
we maintained this Conteft, after having loft an Eye, his
Collar-bone broken, his Arm, his Leg maimed, yet ftill
with Ardour purfuing his Projeds of Empire and Dominion,
and abandoning to Fortune, with Chearfulnefs and Alacrity,
any other Part of his Body {he pleafed, fb that he might enjoy
the Remainder with Honour. Belides, no Mortal could have
ever ventured to affert, that a Man educated in Pella, an ob-
fcure and inconfiderable Village, could have been animated
with a Spirit capable of afpiring to the Sovereignty of Greece,
or that fuch a Defign could have ever entered into his Imagi-
nation ; while you, Athenians as you are, and inftru(? l:ed in
your earlieft Education to behold and admire the glorious Ex-
amples of your Anceftors, could of your own meer Motion
make a Surrender. of the Liberties of Greece to Philip. No
Man living would have ventured fuch an AlTertion. It there-
fore of Ncceftity remained to oppofe his Ufurpations with Re-
folution. Thus did you adl at the Beginning, with Juftice, and
with
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? IN DEFENCE OF CTESIPHON. 389
with Dignity. Thus did I decree, and advife, while I con-
tinued in Adminiftration. I confefs it ; but indeed in what
other Manner could I have a6led ? I afk you this Qucftion,
^Ichines, without mentioning Amphipolis, Pydna, Potida-a,
Halonefus: I do not mention them; Serrium, DorifcuSj the
taking Peparethus by Storm, and every other Inftance of In-
juftice, with which the Republic had been treated, I will not
even know whether they ever exifted. You have however af^
ferted, iEfchines, as you can indeed very dextroufly affert
whatever you think proper, that I had often mentioned them,
meerly with an Intention of provoking Philip's Refentment ;
whereas in Fa6t, all the Decrees relating to them were prefer-
red not by me, but by Eubulus, Ariftophon and Diopithes.
But I fhall not fpeak at prefent to thofe Decrees. However,
when Philip had made himfelf Mafter of Euboea, and fortified
that Ifland with a Defign of making a Defcent upon Attica ;
when he meditated his Expedition again ft Megara ; feized up-
on Oreum, difmantled Porthmus, eftabliflied the Tyrant Phi-
liftides in Oreum, and Clitarchus in Eretria ; when he had
fubdued the Hellefpont, befieged Byzantium, and among the
Cities of Greece, had abfolutely deftroyed fomc, and obliged
others to reftore their Exiles ; : in all this Condudl did he com-
mit any real Adl of Hoftility ; did he diffolve the Treaties be-
tween us? Did he violate the Peace, or not ? i Should any of
the Grecian States have appeared in Oppofition to thefe Acts
of Violence, or not ? If they really ought not, and Greece,
according
o
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? 390 DEMOSTHENES
according to the Proverb, fliould have been given up Uke a
Myfian Conqueft (7) to the firfl: Invader, while the People of
Athens were yet in Being, and even beheld thefe Tranfa<5lions,
I then confefs, that I was trivially employed, when I gave my
Advice, and the Republic was as trivially employed, when fhe
followed that Advice. Be mine therefore all the Faults and
Errors of her Condudl ; yet it ever any Oppofition were to have
been formed againft thefe Ufurpations, whom could fuch an
Oppofition better have become, than the Athenian People ?
Such was my Condudt in Adminiftration during that Period>>
When I faw this Oppreflbr enflaving all Mankind, I oppofed
him; I foretold the Event, and remonftrated to you not to
abandon the World to his Ambition. With regard to the
Peace, it certainly was not violated by the Republic, iEfchines,
but by Philip, when he feized our Ships. Read the Decrees
themfelves, and Philip's Letter concerning that Tranfadion, in
their proper Order ; for by examining them both with Attention,
it will manifeflly appear, who was blameable in every parti-
cular of that Affair.
The Decree.
Under the Archonfhip of Neocles, in the Month of Sep-
tember, an extraordinary Affembly being convened by the
Generals,
{"]) A Myfian Conquefi was a Proverb their King, went by Advice of an Oracle
to exprefs the Weakntfs of a State, fuch to Achilles, to be cured of a Wound,
as that of the Myfians, when Telephus, that Hero himfclf had given him.
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? IN DEFENCE OF C T E S I P H O N. 391
Generals, Eubulus the Cytherian, delivered his Opinion :
Whereas the Generals have made Report to the AfTembly, that
Philip's Admiral Amyntas hath carried into Macedonia, and
there detains in Cuftody, our Admiral Laodamas, with tvv^enty
Veflels fent to the Hellefpont for the Importation of Corn ; be
it decreed, that the Prefidents of the Senate, and the Generals
take Care to convene the Senate, and that Ambafladors be fent
to Philip, who fhall remonftrate to him upon his relcafing
the Admiral, the VefTels and the Soldiers : that if Amyntas
hath indeed a6led in this Matter through Ignorance, the Athe-
nian People will not prefer any Complaint againft him ; or if
Laodamas fhall be found to have a6led in any Thing contrary
to his Inftrudlions, the Athenian People will take Cognizance
of the Affair, and punifli him according to the Nature of his
Offence : but if neither of thefe appear to be the real State of
the Cafe, but that fome intentioned Injuftice hath been com-
mitted either by Philip or his Admiral ; then the Ambaffadors
fhall return an Account of the Affair, that the People may de-
liberate upon proper Meafures. Eubulus therefore, not De-
mofthenes, preferred this Decree j Ariftophon another ; after-
wards Hegefippus; Ariftophon a fecond Time; then Philocra-
tes, Cephifophon, and many others. I never had any Con-
cernment in thefe Meafures. Read the Decree.
The Decree.
Under the Archonfhip of Neocles, on the thirtieth of Sep-
tember,
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? 392 DEMOSTHENES
tember, witli Confent of the Senate ; the Magiftrates and Generals,
having firft made Report to the Senate of what had paffed in
the Aflembly, declared that the People had determined, Am-
bafladors fhall be fent to Philip to folicit the Reftitution of
their Ships, and that proper Inftrudions be given them, be-
fides this Decree of the Aflembly. Cephifophon, Democritus
and Polycritus were eleded ; the Tribe Hyppothoon prefided
in the Senate, Ariftophon, the Prefident, made the Motion for
this Decree.
As I produce thefe Decrees, fo fhould you, iEfchines, pro-
duce thol'e, that I have preferred, by which you may convid
me of having been the Occafion of the War. But impofTible.
If you had any fuch Decrees, it was your Intereft to have im-
mediately fliewn them. Neither indeed does Philip himfelf
impute any Blame to me with regard to the War, although he
complains of others moft feverely. Read his Letter.
Philip's Letter.
Philip, King of the Macedonians, to the Senate and People
of Athens, Greeting. Your Ambafladors are arrived here, and
have remonftrated to me concerning the Difmiflion of thofe
Ships, that Leodamas commanded. Upon the whole of this
Matter, you appear to me to have adled with uncommon Weak-
nefs, if you could imagine, I am ignorant of the real Defti-
nation of thefe Ships, or their being fent under Pretence of
traniporting
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? IN DEFENCE OF CTE SIPHON. 393
tranfporting Corn from the Helkfpont to Lemnos, but in Re-
ality with Deiign to fuccour the Selymbrians, then beficgcd by
me, and not comprehended in our Treaties. Thefe Orders
were given to your Admiral, without the Confcnt of the Athe-
nian People, by certain of your Magiftrates and others, who
now are private Citizens, and have refolved by every poflible
Method to violate the Peace fubfifliing between us, and to re-
new the War. This Refolution they purfue with much more
Earneftnefs, than that of fuccouring the Selymbrians, imagining,
that fuch an Event will be an ample Revenue to them. I can-
not however conceive, how it can promote our mutual Advan-
tage. For thefe Reafons I reftore the Ships brought into our
Harbours ; and if you are willing no longer to fufFer thefe Mi-
nifters, by whom you are impelled to commit fuch Adls of
Injuftice ; if you punifh them, as they really merit, I fhall en-
deavour to preferve our Treaties. Farewell.
The Name of Demofthenes never once appears in this Letter,
nor hath he charged me with having any Share in this Tranf-
adion. But wherefore, while he cenfures others, doth he not
mention my Adminiftration ? ' Becaufe, he muftthen have men-
tioned his own Ufurpations. For upon them I had unmove-
ably fixed my Attention, and made them the principal Objedls
of my Oppofition. I firft decreed an Embafly to Peloponnefus,
when he firft fecretly marched againft Peloponnefus : then to
Euboea, when he attempted Eubnea : afterwards I propofed,
Vol. II. E e e not
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? 394 DEMOSTHENES
not an Embafly, but an Expedition to Oreum, and Eretria,
when he had eftabliflied his Tyrants in thofe Cities. Laflly,
the Fleets, by which Cherfonefus was preferv^d, and Byzantium,
and all our Confederates, were appointed by my Decrees. A
Meafure from which you received the faireft cf all Rewards j
Praifes, Fame, Honours, Crowns, and Gratitude from thofe,
who were indebted to you for their Prefervation. Among the
Nations, opprefTed by this Ufurper, they, who were dire6ted
by your Counfels, found in them their Deliverance: they, who
fjightly regarded your Advice, have had frequent Reafons to
remember what you foretold, and to be convinced, that you
were not only well affeded to their Interefts, but endowed with
fuperior Wifdom, and even with a Spirit of Prophecy ; for cer-
tainly whatever you predicted, the Event hath verified.
That Philiftides would have purchafed at any Rate the
PoffefTion of Oreum, and Clitarchus of Eretria ; that Philip
would have given a mighty Sum to have made himfelf Mafter
of thofe Cities, from whence he might have annoyed the Coafts
of Attica ; and paid any Price, to have been fecure againft a
Convidllon of his other Ufurpations, or to prevent an Inquiry
into the numberlefs A6ls of Hoftility committed againft us,
every Man is perfedlly confcious, and you, jEfchines, can leaft
of all Mankind be ignorant. For the Ambafladors, who came
hither from Clitarchus and Philiftides, took up their Refidence
in your Houfe, and you entertained them at the Expence of the
Pub-^
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? IN DEFENCE OF CTESIPHON. 395
Public ; thofe very Ambaffadors, whom the Athenians violent-
ly drove out of the City, and confidered as Enemies, who
neither offered Propofals juft in themfelves, or advantageous to
the Commonwealth. Thefe Enemies, however, of the Re-
public, were the Friends of iEfchines. Are not thefe Things
true, thou Slanderer ? Thou, who haft afferted, that I re-
ceive my Bribe, and am filent, but grow clamorous, when I
have laviflied it away. Not fuch however is your Pradlice.
You are clamourous, even when you receive, nor will ever ftop
thofe clamours, unlefs our Judges impofe an eternal Silence
upon you, by branding you this Day with Infamy. (8)
'But when I was crowned for thefe Services by your Order;
when Ariftonicus propofed a Decree, in the very fame Terms,
that Ctefiphon hath now ufed (for this is the fecond Time thefe
Honours have been conferred upon me) iEfchines, though
prefent, never oppofed it, or indided the Perfon, who prefer-
red it. Read the Decree.
The Decree.
Under the Archonfhip of Chaerondas, on the twenty-fifth Day
of January, the Leontidean Tribe prefidingin the Senate, Ari-
ftonicus delivered this Opinion : Whereas Demofthenes hath
rendered many and important Services to the People of Athens ;
E e e 2 main-
(8) The Perfon, condemned under the ble of pleading in any CourC of Judi-
Penalty of Infamy, was for ever incapa- cature.
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? 396 DEMOSTHENES
maintained the Interefts of their Confederates both in Times
pafl:, dnd in the prefent by his Decrees; reftored fome of the
Euboean Cities to their Liberty ; given conftant Proof of his
Affedtion to the Athenian People, and, to the utmoft of his
Power, promoted their Interefts and thofe of the other States of
Greece in all his Words and Adions ; it feemeth good to the
Senate and People of Athens, that Demofthenes fhall receive
the Praifes due to his Defervings ; that he fhall be crowned
with a golden Crown, and the Crown itfelf be proclaimed in
the Theatre, when the Feftival of Bacchus is folemnized, and
when the new Tragedians appear upon the Stage ; that the
Proclamation fhall be committed to the Care of the prefiding
Tribe, and the Diredor of the public Games. Thus Ariftoni-
cus delivered his Opinion.
Where then is the Difhonour, the Deriiion and Laughter,
or whatever elfe he afTures us fhall attend the Republic, as a
Confequence of my being crowned at prefent ? Certainly,
when Affairs are recent, and univerfally known, if they have
been happily conduced, they fhall be rewarded with Thanks ;
if otherwife, ftigmatized with Punifhment. It is however
apparent, that I was then rewarded with the general Thanks
of my Fellow-Citizens, not ftigmatized with Punifhment or
Cenfure.
During the Period therefore in which thefe Tranfadlions
hap-
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? IN DEFENCE OF CTESIPHON. 397
happened, it muft be univerfally confefTed, that I managed
the Affairs of the Republic in the beft manner, bccaufc what-
ever I propofed, whether fpeaking or writing, prevailed in your
Councils ; becaufe my Decrees, by which the Commonwealth,
and I, and every Citizen of Athens were honoured with
Crowns by the other States of Greece, were always carried into
Execution ; becaufe you folemnized Sacrifices and Proceffions
to the Gods, for the wife and happy Condud: of your Affairs. /
When Philip therefore was driven out of Euboea, by your Arms
indeed, but by my Pohtics, (and though fome, who liear me,,
fliould even burft with Spleen) by my Decrees, he attempted
to raife another Battery againft: the Republic. Obferving that
we imported a greater Quantity of Corn, than any other State,
he determined to make himfelf Mafter of the Exportation of
it from the Hellefpont, and marching into Thrace endeavoured
to prevail upon the Byzantians, who were at that Time his
Confederates, to unite their Forces with him, and to declare
War againft us. When they refufed, and afferted (as they
might with utmoft Truth affert) that they had not entered
into an Alliance with him upon fuch Conditions, he inverted
their City ; eredled Batteries againft it, and befieged it in Form.
I fhall not aik in what Manner we ought to have adled in fuch
a Conjundture. It is univerfally manifeft. 5 But who fuccoured
the Byzantians and preferved them ? Who prevented the Hel-
lefpont from being at that Time fubdued to a foreign Power ?
You did, O Men of Athens j when I fay you, I fay the Re-
public.
4
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? 398 DEMOSTHENES
public. But who was he, that in all his Orations, Decrees
and Adions, with Simplicity of Heart, and without Referve,
devoted himfelf to the Service of that Republic ? I. (9) How
univTrfally advantageous were thofe Meafures, you are not now
to learn by my Oration ; you have been convinced by their Ef-
feds. For that War, belides the honeft Fame you acquired,
fupplied you with a larger Abundance of all the NecefTaries of
Life, and at a cheaper Rate, than this Peace, of which, to the
Ruin of their Country, fome of our very excellent Citizens, in
View of their own future Expedtations, are fo religiouily obfer-
vant. In fuch Expedlations may they for ever be difappointed,
nor ever partake of thofe BlefTings, which you implore of the
immortal Gods in your warmeft Affedlion for the Common-
wealth, nor ever prevail upon you to engage in their Machina-
tions. Now read the Decrees, by which the Byzantians and
Perinthians crowned the Republic for thefe Meafures.
Decree of the Byzantians.
JBosPHORicus being Pontiffe, Damagetus, having obtained
Leave
(9) Medea's Anfwer to her Confidant, Line? Mci^ disje, ^ c'eft affez. There
in Corneille, very much refembles the is another PafTage, of almoft the fame
Boldnefs and Sublimity of this Paflage. Kind, in this great Author.
Voire pays vous hdit^ fotre Epoux ejl Julia, ^e vouliez-vous qiCil fit centre
fans foi, irois ?
Centre tant cfennemis que vous refle-t-il? Horace. i^V/ mourut.
Med. Moi. Adt i. Sc. 4. Horace, Aft 3. So. 6.
All France, fays Tourreil, hath felt and How much more forcibly might the Ex-
admired this Anfwer. But fliould not preffion have been ? What would you
the Critic have acknowledged, how cold have had him done againfi three ? -- Died.
and fpiritlefs the Beginning of the next 8
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? IN DEFENCE OF CTESIPHON. 399
Leave of the Senate to deliver his Opinion, fpoke thus in the
Affembly : Whereas the People of Athens have in Times pafi:
conftantly preferved a Spirit of Bene\'olence towards the By-
zantians, and their Confederates and Kindred, the Perinthi-
ans ; and whereas they have conferred upon them many and
great Obligations, particularly in a late Conjundlure, when
Philip of Macedon invaded their Dominions, with Intention
utterly to deftroy their whole Nation ; laying wafte their
Country with Fire, and cutting down their Forefts ; the Peo-
ple of Athens then fent us Succours of an hundred and twenty
Ships with Proviiions, Arms, and SiDldiers ; relieved us
from imminent Danger, and reftored to us our ancient Form
of Government, our Laws, and the Sepulchres of our Ancef-
tors ; it therefore feemeth good to the Byzantians and Perin-
thians, to grant unto the Athenians the Rights of Intermarriage,
the Privileges of Citizens, the Poffefllon of Lands and Tene-
ments, a diftinguifhed Seat at all our public Games, a Free-
dom of entering into our Senate, and into the Affemblies of
our People, next to thofe, who have the Superintendence of
all religious Matters : furthermore, that whoever thinks proper
to inhabit our Cities fhall be exempted from all Taxes and
Impofts : that three Statues, fixteen Cubits high, fhall be e-
redled at the Port of Byzantium, reprefenting the Republic of
Athens crowned by the Byzantian and Perinthian Republics :
that Prizes (hall be fent to the general Meetings of Greece at
the Ifthmian, Nemean, Olympic and Pythian Games : that
the
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? 400 DEMOSTHENES
the Crowns, with which the People of Athens are crowned by
us, fhall be there proclaimed, to the Intent that all the States
of Greece may know the Magnanimity of the Athenians, and
the Gratitude of the Byzantians and Perinthians.
Now recite the Decrees of the People of Cherfonefus, when
they fent Crowns to this Commonwealth.
The Decree of the Chersonesites.
The People inhabiting the Cities of Seftus, Eleus, Madytus,
and Alopeconnefus, prefent the People of Athens with a golden
Crown of fixty Talents Weight ; and confecrate an Altar to
Gratitude, and the Athenian People, becaufe they have received
from that People the greateft of all human Bleflings, by being
taken out of the Hand of Philip, and reftored to their Country,
their Laws, their Liberty and their Temples. Thefe Benefits
we fhall through all Time gratefully remember, and return
thefe Obligations to the utmoft of our Power. Thus they
unanimoufly decreed in their general Aflembly.
' My Counfels therefore, and my Adminiftration not only
preferved Cherfonefus and Byzantium ; not only prevented Phi-
lip from making himfelf Mafter of the Hellefpont ; not only
acquired thefe Honours for the Republic, but made the Gene-
rofity of Athens, and the Perfidy of Philip, evidently manifeft
to all Mankind. For while he was adlually an Ally and Con-
federate
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? IN DEFENCE OF CTESIPHON. 401
federate of the Byzantians, yet he befieged them in the Face of
the whole World, (an Adion at once mod infamous, and ex-
ecrable) while you, although you had many juft Reafons of
Complaint againft them for Injuries formerly committed, not
only did not remember your Refentment, or abandon them,
when they were opprefTed, but openly appeared in their De-
fence. By this Condu6t you gained univcrfal Honour and
Efteem. That indeed you yourfelves have crowned many ot
your Citizens for the Wifdom of their Adminift ration, no Man
'is ignorant. But that the Republic herfelf was ever crowned,
I mean by any of her Senators or Orators, except by me, no
Man living will venture to affert.
I SHALL now demonftrate, that his Invedives againfl: the
Euboeans and Byzantians, when he numbered over the Er-
rors, which perhaps they had really committed againft the
Interefts of the Commonwealth, are abfolute Calumnies ;
not only becaufe they are falfe in themfelves (of which I
prefume you are perfedlly convinced) but fuppofing them true,
becaufe I have employed them in fuch a Manner, as to have
rendered them advantageous to your Affairs. To this Fur-
pofe, I fhall briefly mention one or two Inftances of your
own Condud:, moft honourable to the Republic. , For
every Citizen in his priv^ate, and every Nation in its
public Chara6ter, fhould perpetually endeavour to excell in
their future Adions, whatever they themfelves have already
Vol. II. F f f per-
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? 402 DEMOSTHENES
performed mofl: reputable and glorious. (lo) When the Lace-
daemonians therefore, O Men of Athens, were abfolute Mafters
both by Land and Sea ; had furrounded Attica with Guards and
Garrifons ; had taken PoffefTion of Eubosa, Tanagra, Boeotia,
Megara, JEgma, Cleonae and the adjacent Iflands ; when the
Republic had neither Ships in her Harbours, nor Walls round
her Capita], yet you marched to Haliartus, and a few Days
afterwards to Corinth, although you might juftly have refented
the numberlefs Outrages, committed both by the Corinthians
and Thebans in the Decelean war. (ii) But you a6led not
thus inglorioufly ; far otherwife. The Athenians, ^Efchines,
engaged in both thefe Expeditions, neither in gratitude for Be-
nefits received, nor becaufe they were infenfible of their Dan-
ger; but becaufe they would not abandon thofe, who fled
to them for Protedion. Then, ardent in the Purfuit of Honour
and of Fame, they determined to expofe themfelves to the
moft formidable Perils ; thus generoufly confulting at once their
Intereft and their Glory. For Death is the certain Period of
Life to every human Creature, although he hide himfelf for
Safety in his moft fecret Chambers. It therefore becomes the
brave
(lo) This PafTage hath been ill ren- cibiades, built a ftrong Fort, from whence
dered by our Tranflators, except the Ita- they ravaged the open Country ; kept
lian. Percicche rhiwmo nelle ftie private Athens in perpetual Alarms, and often.
alticni, iS una citta nelle publiche, aW e- intercepted her Convoys of Provifions.
f-mpiodelle piu belle operefempre, c\\tQg)\, The Importance of this Fort gave its.
6 ella ha fatte, debhe forzarji di far Tal- Name to the War, although it was noc
tre cofe, eke a far gli rimangano. built 'till the nineteenth Year of what is
(ii) Decelea was a little Village about generally called the Pcloponnefian War.
fifteen Miles from Athens. Here the Thucydides. 7. Lib*
Lacedaemonians, by the Advice of Al-
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? IN DEFENCE OF CTESIPHON. 403
brave to attempt every honourable Enterprize ; oppofing their
Courage and their Hopes to the Danger, and refolute to bear
with Fortitude, whatever God fhall appoint. Thus a6led our
Anceftors ; thus adled fome of our Citizens, who are yet Hving,
when they fuccoured the Lacediemonians, (12) certainly neither
Friends nor Benefadors, but guilty of a thoufand Ads of In-
juftice and Oppreflion with regard to the RepubHc. Yet when
the Thebans, after their Vidlory at Leudra, determined utterly
to deftroy them, you oppofed their OpprefTors, neither terrified
by the Greatnefs of their Power, nor the niilitary Reputation
they had acquired ; neither confidering the numberlefs Wrongs
you had received from that very People, in whofe Defence you
now endangered your own Safety. By thefe Inftances/ you
made it evident to all the States of Greece, that however they
might offend, you would referve your Refentment for fome
other Occafion, and neither remember nor demand an Account
of their Offences, when either their Safety, or their Liberty ^
were in Danger. |
Fff2 Nor
(12) The Sentence in the Original is than in the temperate Digniry of the
imperfeft. The Verb, that (hould ex- Pa/Tage before us. Would not fome of
prefs defending, ftucourhigy relieving the the ancient Orators have imitated, or the
Lac-edsmonians, does not appear in the Critics have mentioned it with their ufiial
Text. Ol' AocxeSxificavin;. Doftor Tay- Marks of Wonder and Approbation?
! or thinks it an Inftance of that velientent Is it not more natural and fimple to iina-
and violent Spirit, which will not be con- gine, that Iqc-^B-. -txi/, la-xuxrxv, or fome
fined by the Rules of Grammarians, fuch Word, hath been loft by the Care-
Yet furely we might rather have expefted leirnefs of Tranfcribers ^ However, we
to find fuch an Inftance of Irregularity, fliouid be cautious of applauding thefe
unknown even to the Boldnefs and Li- hazardous Beauties, which perhaps are
centioufnefs of Poetry, in fome other only pardonable in their original Author,
Parts of this Oration, where the PalTions and are greatly liable to be abufed by
inight be fuppofed to have occafioneJ ir, his Imitators.
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? 404 DEMOSTHENES
Nor with regard to the Lacedemonians only did you behave
yourfelves in this Manner, but when the Thebans invaded Eu-
boea, you did not indolently behold that Event, nor remember
how you had been injured by Themifon, and Theodorus in the
Affair of Oropus, but fuccoured and relieved them. It was at
this Period, that our Citizens, among whom I have a Right of
being numbered, firfl voluntarily offered themfelves to the Re-
public to fupport the Expence of fitting out your Gallies.
But of this Matter hereafter. Yet however glorious your pre-
ferving that Ifland, fiill more glorious, when you became abfo-
lute Mafters of its Cities and the Lives of their Inhabitants, that
you honourably reftored them to thofe, by whom you were thus
injured, without demanding an Account of their Injuftice,
when they had placed this Confidence in your Integrity. A
thoufand other Inftances I pafs over unmentioned ; the Sea-
fights, Expeditions, Battles, in which, both formerly and within
our Memory, the Republic engaged, in Support of the Liberties
and Interefts of Greece. When I beheld Her, upon fo many and
fuch important Occafions, voluntarily entering into thefe Contefts
in Defence of others, what Counfelfhould I have propofed, what
Advice fhould I have given, where her own Safety was in fome
Meafure under her Confideration ? To remember her Refent-
ments againft thofe, forbid it Jupiter ! who now folicited her
Protedion ; and to feek for Pretences, by which we ihould
have betrayed the common Caufe of Liberty ? ^ightnotany of
our Citizens have been juftified in killing me, if I had attempted,
everi
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? IN DEFENCE OF CTESIPIION. 405
even in Words alone, to diOionour the ancient Glories of the
Commonwealth ? For that in Fadl you were incapable of a6t-
ing in fo degenerate a Manner, I was perfedlly convinced. If
you had been thus inclined, what could have hindered you ?
Was it not undoubtedly in your Power ? Were not iEfchines
and his Fadion moft afliduous in advifing you to fuch Mea-
lures ? ?
But I return to the regular Account of my Adminiftration
after this Period, and do you again confider, whether I have
adled for the general Advantage of the Commonwealth. When
I beheld your Marine, O Men of Athens, lying in Ruins, and
the Rich for an inconfiderable Pittance exempted from the
Taxes, that fhould fupport it ; when I beheld your Citizens, of
moderate and indigent Circumftanccs, defpoiled of their Pro-
perty, and the Republic perpetually too late in her Operations,
jl determined to eftablifh a Law, by which I compelled the
rich to adl with Juftice ; protected the poor from Oppreflion,
and, what was of infinite Importance, effedually provided, that
the Commonwealth fhould always be ready, at the appointed
Time, in all her military Preparations. When I was indided
upon an Adlion of preferring a new Law in oppofition to thofe
already eftablifhed, I appealed to your Tribunal, and was ac-
quitted ; nor did my Prolecutor obtain the fifth Part of the
Suffrages, (i 3) What Sums do you then imagine would our
principal
(13) This was an honourable Acquittal. When a Profecutor had not a fifth
Patt
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? 4o6 DEMOSTHENES
principal Citizens, (14) appointed for the Equipment of our
Gallies, have given me, not to have 'propofed this Law ; or at
leaft, to have fufpended the immediate Profecution of it, under
the ufual Forms of an Oath to propofe it hereafter. (15)
Such Sums, O Men of Athens, as in Truth I am afhamed to
mention. Nor would they have adled imprudently ; becaufe
by the former Laws fixteen of them were permitted to join in
building a fingle Galley ; from whence their Taxes were very
inconfiderable, or rather abfolutely nothing, while the poor
were cruelly opprelTed. But by my Law, every Citizen was
obliged to contribute in proportion to his Fortune ; and thus the
Man, who before had contributed only a lixteenth part to build-
ing one Galley, was now obliged to build two at his own
Expence. For they did not before call themfelves Trierarchs,
but Contributors. (16) Certainly there was not any Sum, they
would not chearfully have given to have evaded the force of the
new Law, and not been compelled to adl with Equity to their
Fellow-
Part of the Votes, he was generally fined fignifying the Oath, by which the De-
in Proportion to the Importance of the cifion of a Caufe was put off. One ot
Caufe. This was done to difcoiirage the Parties fwore he was incapable of at-
vexatious and litigious Profecutions. Pa- tending, either through Sicknefs, or fome
trocles, who preferred this Indidment other Neceflity, but would renew the
againft our Orator, was fined five hun- Suit, as foon as poiTible.
dred Drachmas. (i6) The 'V\'ox<\ Trier arch in its firfl
(14) Litterally tranflated, 'They, who and principal Senfe fignifies, the Com-
hold the firft, fccond and third Rank in mander of a Galley. In this, and many
the Clajfes appointed to raife this Tax. other Paflages, it means the Perion, ap-
The Reader may find the Scheme, upon pointed to build it. Our very excellent
which our Autlior founded his Law, in Itahan Tranflator has not been attentive
the firft Oration, fird Volume. to this Difference ; / governatori delle
(ij) Ev ^TTuiA,ocrto(. , A Law-Term, galee.
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? IN DEFENCE OF CTESIPHON. 407
Fellow-Citizens. Now read the Decree, for which I was in-
didled. Then read the Schedule of Taxes appointed by our
former Laws, and afterwards by mine.
The Decree.
Under the Archonfhip of Polycles, on the fixteenth of Sep-
tember, Demofthenes propofed a Law to the Board of Admiral-
ty, repealing all former Laws, by which the Contributions of
the Trierarchs were regulated. It was confirmed by the Senate
and People. Patrocles preferred an Indictment againft De-
mofthenes for this Violation of our Laws, and not gaining a
fifth Part of the Suffrages, was fined five hundred Drachmas.
Now produce the very honeft Taxes of our former Laws.
The Taxes.
Let fixteen Trierarchs, from twenty five Years of Age to for-
ty, be appointed for building one Galley, and let them equally
contribute to the Expence.
Now read the Taxes propofed by my Law,
The Taxes.
tET the Trierarchs be chofen, according to the Valuation of
their Eftates. If it amount to ten Talents, kt them build one
Galley ; if to more than ten Talents, let them be taxed in pro-
portion as far as building three Gallies and a Frigate ; if to lefs,
then let a Number be joined together, whofe Eftates amount
to that Sum. i
Bco
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? 4o8 DEMOSTHENES
Do I then appear to have inconfiderably relieved the Poor
from their Oppreflions, or would not the Rich have purchafed at
any Price a Power of continuing their Injuftice ? I do not
therefore only triumph in my not having yielded to their Soli-
talions, or in having been honourably acquitted when I was
indidled, but in having eftablifhed this falutary Law, and pro-
dudlive of fuch happy EfFe6ts. For during the whole Courfe
of the War, while your Expeditions were conduced according
to this new Regulation, no Trierarch ever complained of In-
juftice, or applied to you for Redrefs ; none ever" fled for Re-
fuge to the Afylum of Diana's Temple at Munychia ; none were
ever thrown into Prifon by the Comptrollers of the Navy ;
your Galleys were never taken by the Enemy, or detained in
Harbour, unable to put to Sea by not being properly equipped.
Yet all thefe Accidents often happened by your former Laws,
becaufe the Poor were incapable of paying their Taxes, i From
hence many infuperable Difficulties arofe. But I removed the
Expence of thefe Armaments from the Poor to the Rich, and
then every thing was regularly conduced. I therefore imagine,
that I am not unworthy of Pralfe, for having through my
whole Courfe of Miniftry conftantly preferred fuch Meafures,
as at once added Reputation, Honour, Strength to the Republic,
and that nothing envious, malignant, ill-natured ; nothing
abjedl, or unworthy of the Commonwealth ever appeared in
my Adminiftration. Upon thefe Principles I (hall appear to
have a(5ted, not only with Regard to your Affairs, but to the
general
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